Ganguly absence baffles Bangladesh fans

Dhaka:The mystery of the missing Sourav Ganguly has baffled not only Indian fans but also millions of his supporters across the border in Bangladesh.

The former India captain and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar were left out of the one-day series starting here on Thursday, with the selectors insisting the duo had been rested.

Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev was convinced the two had been dropped after the World Cup debacle where India were knocked out in the first round after losing to Bangladesh and eventual finalists Sri Lanka.

Both Ganguly and Tendulkar have been picked for the two Test matches to follow, but the omission of two of the most successful batsmen in one-day history has irked Bangladeshi fans.

"India just refuses to take Bangladesh seriously and they will pay for it like they did in the World Cup," said a young fan Ashraful Momin.

"Sourav 'dada' (elder brother) is very popular here, and not getting a chance to see him and Sachin is very disappointing."

Added another fan Mohammad Shamim: "Ganguly is our hero, not because he is a fellow Bengali, but because he is a great player.

"We would have thought India would field its best team against us. India need to be reminded that we won the World Cup match, not them."

Tendulkar is the world's leading one-day batsman with a record 14,847 runs and 41 centuries.

Ganguly, from the West Bengal capital Kolkata, is one of only seven batsman with more than 10,000 runs, his 10,632 inclusive of 22 hundreds.

Bangladesh's maiden entry into the second round of the World Cup has caused a major change in the attitude of fans, who now hero-worship their own players more than those from abroad.

"We have our own heroes now," said journalist Abdul Halim. "Players like Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal and Abdur Razzak became very popular during the World Cup."

Bangladesh have lost 13 of their 15 one-dayers against India, but their two victories came in the last four games.

India have won all the three Test matches against their neighbours, who gained Test status in 2000.